WEDNESDAY, 9:35am: The Browns have officially ended McCown’s season by placing him on injured reserve, the team announced today in a press release.
TUESDAY, 2:09pm: Browns quarterback Josh McCown is done for the season with a fractured collarbone, coach Mike Pettine told reporters (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). When asked about who will start the team’s upcoming game, Pettine indicated that things are still up in the air.
McCown finishes the year with fairly respectable numbers. The Browns only won one of his eight starts, but he completed 63.7% of his passes, throwing for 2,109 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. Having signed a three-year contract with Cleveland, McCown still has some guaranteed money left on his deal in 2016, so he’s a good bet to return either as the starter or backup.
Now, the question becomes whether Pettine will install Johnny Manziel or Austin Davis as the starting quarterback going forward in 2015. After Manziel was removed from the starting job, he was moved down to No. 3 on Cleveland’s depth chart behind Davis. Technically speaking, that would put Davis in line for the temporary starting role, but the organization ostensibly would want to see what they have in Manziel rather that Davis, whose ceiling is likely as a backup in the NFL.
Start Johnny Mazeil
They definitely should. The Browns did a good job giving Manziel a dose of discipline last night, but no one would blame them for going back to him now with McCown shelved. Davis certainly isn’t their long-term answer at QB. Odds are Manziel isn’t either, but they might as well give him these five games to get a better idea of where he is in his on-field development.